Let’s stop peddling poverty

TERRENCE HONORE

THE REALITY of poverty is evident in every society, but there are those among us who have made it their mission to keep people poor. Our leaders, by their decisions and actions, have struggled in their efforts to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.

The recent announced annual budget amounted to a perpetuation of the problem of persistent poverty in TT. Much like previous budgets, it failed to favour the poor. The Government must endeavour to do more.

We agree that poverty reduction is a complex equation. There are many contributing factors, but the situation demands that all and sundry should put their two cents’ worth into the purse if we are to fix this vexing problem.

Meanwhile, inflation, that resident evil, is rampant. With its upward movement in costs and a downward spiral to poverty. I have known this since I was a boy. Back then I paid three cents for a pound of sugar and four cents for a pound of rice...those days were nice. And the wages and salaries got along well with the value of the currency. Today, basic costs have climbed so high and so fast that the poor have been left wondering what hit them.

Meanwhile, volumes of books and papers and a preponderance of words have weighed down the minds of the many who are trying to keep their sanity, as the economy rises and falls. It’s a case of promises in their heads, but little money in their pockets. Never mind the well-intentioned economists who analyse and predict like the weatherman in the evening news. The inclemency of our currency continues to plague us.

Yes, there are those among us who continue to work assiduously to be rich and to keep the poor at bay. And to condemn them to live out their lives in the “prison of poverty” that confines so many of us. It all amounts to being a clear case of peddling poverty.

I have often wondered at the obscene profits made by the financial institutions and the practice of many to fill their pockets with filthy lucre. Some would not agree that a percentage of their success should, by law, be given to the poor. Not just a pittance to a community effort with a grand charade of banners and accolades of their giving.

We need to share more “crumbs” from the corporate table.

I was impressed by the accounts of the Trini Syrians who, in the early days, peddled their bicycles throughout the country and sold their goods to eager buyers. The precious pieces of fabric and other items were offered and welcomed by many. The Syrian businessmen peddled their way out of poverty…all the way to the heights of the economy, one per cent at a time.

Today, many people refuse to do the work to stop being poor. Relying on the Government to “mind we.” But the times have caught up with us, and the rate of inflation has taken its toll. Now a dollar in hand is not worth much in the market.

Let’s remember that money has its own mind. It haunts you at night and is never satisfied at being a mistress in your dealings.

So, while the rich do what they do, the poor must help themselves out of the deep economic potholes that they are in. Being stuck in a rut like the roads of our nation calls for discipline and application of skills to find a way to get on the smooth road of life. We must save a little, spend less and learn to live above the poverty line.

We must continue to encourage and support the various volunteer groups and individuals who work to help the poor. We must be mindful that the social net might just have too many holes.

Meanwhile, the universal efforts at poverty reduction announced by the United Nations required nations to “look again at the rate of reduction of poverty per capita and stop promoting poverty because of bad judgment.” The strategy involved two bold efforts – the naming of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the subsequent 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.) Both sets of goals identified poverty as the number one issue to be addressed. The latest effort by the UN General Assembly was the proclamation of the Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018-2027).

Overall, the strategies have brought about some gains but many losses, as countries sought to achieve the stated goals, but the economic systems were not sufficiently robust, or successfully applied to make a significant difference. Even so, much of what was achieved has since been eroded by covid19.

In our determinations, we must look closely at the things that keep us apart in the economic divide. It is wishful thinking that poverty among us will one day be no more. But the challenge is how we treat with those who have less than us, in material wealth. That is the true economic measure of a nation.

I make reference to a quotation by Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, the billionaire who tops Forbes’s Richest Africans 2022. His refinery operates at 650,000 bpd and his company runs a $2 billion petrochemical plant. The article written about him in the African Business magazine stated, “Nigeria is importing poverty, let’s export it instead.” The maxim is worth our serious consideration. Interestingly, his company also operates the largest sugar refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 tonnes of sugar annually.

Our models of national economic development have experimented with several strategies, including shutdowns of key industries, which have resulted in worsening of our economic woes. Poverty reduction remained a political banner and a buzzword in our ears. We have been failing to push the poverty line to a favourable place in the economic demarcation.

The Central Statistical Office (CSO 2021) referred to the Government’s commitment to reducing poverty by two per cent per year. The target must be reviewed and refined in order for us to ensure alignment with the UN’s proclamations on poverty reduction.

So, what are we to do? We cannot be a nation of “handouts and loud mouths,” we must address those elements that contribute to the reduction of poverty. Our fiscal policies and budgetary allocations continue to set an uneven playing field, with the rich collecting the big bucks and the poor still doing penance for the pittance they receive.

Above all, we must earnestly and honestly apply the measures that bring relief to the masses and keep the rich sensitive to the needs of others. We must stop pushing the poverty head and learn thrift and self-discipline and apply wisdom instead.

Indeed, the pursuit of wealth and riches combined with the neglect of the poor is a recipe for economic disaster. Certainly, we should acquire wealth, but we must maintain our spiritual health which requires loving and sharing with the less fortunate among us.

In the final analysis, poverty is very much a global issue. The international markets fluctuate and the major institutions dictate policies that determine the fate of many floundering economies. So, we must be prudent in our economic measures to avoid being unwilling participants in peddling poverty to our own people.

It’s a dangerous place to be when a country finds itself trading in poverty and not in wealth.

The formula to follow is to pursue wealth; the country needs it. But we must, through good governance, elevate our people, and lift ourselves by our bootstraps and more to alleviate the plight of the poor.

Let us relearn how to express our economic rights, as in a free-market economy, and stop peddling poverty.